Watts Water Technologies Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again

Seth Jayson, The Motley Fool
Updated

Watts Water Technologies (NYS: WTS) reported earnings on Feb. 19. Here are the numbers you need to know.

The 10-second takeaway
 For the quarter ended Dec. 31 (Q4), Watts Water Technologies met expectations on revenues and beat expectations on earnings per share.

Compared to the prior-year quarter, revenue was unchanged. Non-GAAP earnings per share increased. GAAP earnings per share dropped.


Gross margins grew, operating margins increased, net margins contracted.

Revenue details
 Watts Water Technologies logged revenue of $359.2 million. The 10 analysts polled by S&P Capital IQ expected to see sales of $357.6 million on the same basis. GAAP reported sales were the same as the prior-year quarter's.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
 EPS came in at $0.61. The 11 earnings estimates compiled by S&P Capital IQ forecast $0.57 per share. Non-GAAP EPS of $0.61 for Q4 were 8.9% higher than the prior-year quarter's $0.56 per share. GAAP EPS of $0.44 for Q4 were 4.3% lower than the prior-year quarter's $0.46 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Margin details
 For the quarter, gross margin was 36.1%, 190 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 9.4%, 280 basis points better than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 4.3%, 40 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead
 Next quarter's average estimate for revenue is $368.4 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.57.

Next year's average estimate for revenue is $1.51 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.60.

Investor sentiment
 The stock has a four-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 341 members out of 358 rating the stock outperform, and 17 members rating it underperform. Among 110 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 107 give Watts Water Technologies a green thumbs-up, and three give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Watts Water Technologies is hold, with an average price target of $41.83.

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The article Watts Water Technologies Beats Up on Analysts Yet Again originally appeared on Fool.com.

Seth Jayson had no position in any company mentioned here at the time of publication. You can view his stock holdings here. He is co-advisor ofMotley Fool Hidden Gems, which provides new small-cap ideas every month, backed by a real-money portfolio. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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